five.....garden to table dinners for two

the growing season is over for the year here in boulder, colorado which is always sad because i love my garden and all of its bounty but i have to admit its also a bit of a relief as i am feeling near boredom exhaustion with weeding, monitoring, thinning, transplanting and fighting pests. what i will miss most as the cold arrives, are my morning wanderings through the colorful vegetable and herb beds concocting ideas for dinner inspired by what is ripe and ready. this summer, i kept a photo journal of some of the fresh garden to table dishes i created for me and paul celebrating seasonal vegetables, hard work and the rich rewards of a summer garden.

this year, we planted swiss chard in our shady raised bed alongside lettuce, spinach, rocket and other greens. i had in mind making spanakopita when i planted the tiny seeds and was looking forward to when the deep green leaves were ready to be picked. i used this quick & easy spanakopita recipe substituting my beautiful swiss chard for ho-hum frozen spinach thawed and drained (bleh!). it turned out just like the dish i had been dreaming of.

i made ratatouille at least three times this summer because i actually couldn't help it. with the zucchini, summer squash, tomatoes, onions and herbs all raising their hands to be picked, i can make everyone happy, including me and paul, with this delicious dish. i followed once upon a chef's ratatouille recipe this go 'round. we like ratatouille served over warm polenta and topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese. a summer veggie classic with a cool french name.

this meal was a paul sunday lunch special. (he never uses a recipe - cooking comes so naturally for him) the garden to table feature is the roasted cherry tomato, onion and fresh herb side dish that brightens up the plate. we planted three cherry tomato plants this summer which kept us running. the day before, i had picked two bowls full of the savory cherries and paul used about one third of them which helped. the rest were tossed, along with handfuls of regular-sized tomatoes, into making a cream of tomato soup to freeze for many up and coming winter weather suppers.

slurping homemade corn chowder with potatoes, fresh corn off the cob and thick bacon sprinkled on top felt decadent but.....whatever. it was a cloudy, cooler day so we dove right in, enjoyed it and all the world felt right and comfortable. i'm still working on the timing of harvesting our corn. sometimes it doesn't look quite ready but then sometimes when it looks ready to pick, its a bit past prime. i also have the pressure of the all-knowing raccoons helping themselves to the corn whenever they want to. during the night, they can strip a corn stalk and cob like no one's business and leave the remains for me to clean up. naughties.

i used our onions to make this divine french onion tart and served it with a tossed green salad made with our veggie garden ingredients topping it with bright nasturtium blossoms from the herb garden. they add a strong peppery tang! onions were a first for us this year and we learned a thing or two. first of all, onions are a kindly and very undemanding vegetable :) secondly, we didn't plant them deep enough so i don't think they grew as big as they could have. finally, next year i will plant them closer together and many, many more. when we harvest the rest of the onions, i want to make an onion braid to hang in the pantry. i remember my mom doing that once when i was younger and i thought it was so cool. harvesting, cooking, serving and eating garden-fresh seasonal vegetables is one of life's simple pleasures.

a good marriage

is a contest of

generosity.

                                   - diane sawyer

bread and butter pickles

last summer, our daughter margo came over from kazakhstan for a welcomed visit home. bright and early one morning, she went out to the garden, picked all of our ready-to-pick cucumbers and then set to work in the kitchen making a jar of bread and butter pickles. i had just been limiting myself to simply slicing the garden cucumbers into salads all summer but margo thinks outside the box. we love her for that. we enjoyed that jar of pickles until they were gone then sliced new cucumbers into the remaining brine and enjoyed them again. here is my attempt this summer, now that i'm feeling more freedom to do these satisfying pasttimes, to recreate last summer's garden cucumber memory, sans margo :(

Bread and Butter Pickles

2 pounds pickling cucumbers, sliced                                       2 cloves garlic, sliced

1/2 yellow onion, sliced                                                          1 tablespoon mustard seed

2 red jalapeno peppers, sliced into rings                               1 teaspoon celery seeds

3 tablespoons kosher salt                                                       1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

2 cups distilled white vinegar                                                1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 cup white sugar                                                                  1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 cup water

Collect cucumbers, onion and peppers in a bowl. Pour kosher salt over all, stirring to coat completely. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in refrigerator for 2 - 4 hours, stirring now and then. 

Transfer cucumber mixture to colander and rinse under cold water for 3 - 4 minutes to remove all salt. Drain.

Combine vinegar, sugar, water, mustard seed, celery seed, peppercorns, tumeric, and ground cloves in a saucepan and stir. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes for brine flavors to combine. 

Add cucumber mixture to brine, stir. Bring mixture to almost boiling then remove from heat and cool completely. 

Transfer pickles and brine to jars and store in refrigerator.

i wanted to share a photo i took along hwy. 6 outside wellington, utah on a recent road trip paul and i took to meet up with family members visiting from south africa and london. what a treat that was! thanks for making the long haul margo, tony and emma!

If you truly love Nature,

    you will find beauty 

                everywhere.

                                             - Vincent Van Gogh

herbal wreath

 i will take a little break from all the wedding activity recap (however, we will return as the photos come in) and head to the quiet, patient, but still vibrant herb garden before the cold weather descends.
gathering fresh foliage of sage, rosemary and thyme, i was inspired to make a herbal wreath.

after cutting the herbs, i gathered my other materials:

8 inch wooden embroidery hoop

floral wire

wire cutters

i used sage as my base herb, tying small bundles together with wire.

10 bundles of sage were used to cover this 8 inch hoop.

i began attaching the herbs to the hoop wrapping wire over a sage bundle and adding a sprig of thyme and rosemary.

i continued this same process using the subsequent bundles to hide the base of the previous bundle until the hoop was covered and the wreath looked full and abundant, all the while luxuriating in the fragrance of the process. mmmmmm.

i love this little fresh and fragrant wreath and plan on including it as a centerpiece for our up and coming thanksgiving and christmas dinners. finally, i will hang it in the kitchen adding the then dried herbs to roasts, soups and sauces throughout the winter.

have a lovely weekend.

five.....autumn harvest soups

our favorite time of year has arrived and we are in an autumnal mood as tomorrow we welcome home.....october.

gabi and i have a pumpkin spice candle burning, we've baked pumpkin cookies and are wearing sweaters or hoodies in the cool of the evening. we are also in the mood for soup. 

since paul is traveling overseas this week and at home we are harvesting the last of our garden vegetables, the two of us decided to make a week of soup dinners featuring homegrown: 

tomatoes, corn, carrots, zucchini and butternut squash. 

(we'll freeze some for you paul, you won't be missing out.)

sunday: tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches

monday: corn chowder and spinach salad

tuesday: carrot and ginger soup with kale salad

wednesday: zucchini soup and gabi's homemade cornbread loaf

thursday: our all-time family favorite butternut squash soup and artisan wheat bread

(we're going way back in the archives for this recipe, 6 years, scroll down in the post, be patient, have a chuckle, it's there :)

have a lovely weekend.

homegrown corn on the cob

this year, we planted corn for the very first time. it is so very easy to grow, yet so dramatic!

watching the stalks reach for the sky in all their green glory has been a summer treat. above is a half grown photo from early in july.

i have been wanting to grow corn for awhile but was put off a bit when our next door neighbor shared with me her corn tale of woe....

lori was excited to finally have a garden and grow her own corn. her husband and teenage boys were looking forward to it too. lori planned and planted and waited and watched. finally, at the end of the summer the corn was ripe and ready so lori organized a barbeque with friends to share their bounty. the morning of the barbeque, lori went outside to gather her harvest and was shocked then heartbroken to find the entire corn crop shredded, stripped, broken and bare. raccoons! raccoons had also been planning, scheming, waiting and watching and knew as well just when the corn was at its best. sad.

so, these past couple of weeks i've put roxy on guard protecting our nearly ready corn crop.

(actually, here she is protecting us from a wild rabbit, she does this during her off time)

success! yesterday, i harvested, gabi shucked, paul barbecued and we all ate homegrown corn on the cob!

thanks roxy!

have a lovely weekend.

Garden to Table - Blackberry Breakfast

our blackberry bushes are absolutely gorgeous right now. 

come, let's take an early morning walk down to the berry patch by the stream and i'll show you.

i've been coming down to pick berries every other day or so this week. on my way, i've also seen fresh signs of bear and i'm afraid it won't be long until they discover and help themselves to our berry stash as well.

i could take photos all morning with this perfect light and these brightly colored and very cooperative subjects.

blackberries would be great to add to a smoothie or bake in a pie, muffins or bars but this morning, i'm picking some to put fresh atop the homemade granola i'm baking.......

not a boxed cereal fan, i do love muesli and i do love granola. 

i think the freedom of throwing into a bowl any combination of good things i find in the pantry is appealing.

there are limitless combinations to try and it's so quick and easy.

 earlier this morning, i gathered various items from the pantry and made a new batch of granola. 

it's always a different blend, but today it went like this........

Homemade Granola

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup dates, cut in small pieces

1/2 cup pecans

1/2 cup coconut flakes

1 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 grapeseed oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

In a big bowl, stir together rolled oats, cranberries, dates, nuts and coconut. In a small bowl, stir together maple syrup, brown sugar, oil and salt. Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and stir until combined. On a rimmed baking sheet, spread mixture evenly and bake in a 300° oven for 40 minutes. Halfway through baking, stir granola and return to oven. Keep an eye on things and don't let it get too crunchy. Let cool and store in an airtight container.

*Serve with full cream milk and top with berries.

summer splendor.

have a lovely weekend.